Still Fighting
by ForeverProngs
Summary: "We're still here, James. We're still fighting. We'll make Voldemort pay for what he's done." The story of James and Lily as they complete their seventh year at Hogwarts. They've found themselves in a war. Will they find love along the way?
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Hello all! This was originally going to be a one shot but I just really want to extend it. I really am a rather huge fan of James and Lily and have wanted to write one of these for ages. Keep a look out for the next chapters and let me know what you think. Much love!**

**Disclaimer: James and Lily are not mine. Nothing to do with Harry Potter is mine. It's tragic. I know. **

Lily Evans was strolling down the corridors of Hogwarts lost deep in her own thoughts. Spinning her wand in her fingers absently, she was paying less attention to her job than she probably should have. As head girl, it was her responsibility to ensure that there were no students out of bed; instead she was humming to herself as she contemplated the events of the past few months. It had been tragic when she received a letter from her estranged sister declaring that their parents were dead. Lily had been heartbroken. Her friends Emmeline Vance and Marlene McKinnon had been there for her but were struggling with the tragedies of losing their own family members. Emmeline's mother had recently died of spattergroit and Marlene's younger brother had been murdered by Death Eaters.

She by no means blamed them for being distant, it wasn't uncommon for a student to burst into tears during breakfast because of a letter they received confirming the death of a loved one. These were dark days they were living in. Dark days indeed. More and more attacks were occurring and the list of casualties was rising rapidly. It seemed that Hogwarts was the only place that was safe left, not only in the wizarding world, but the muggle world too. Lily stopped humming for a moment. She was sure she could hear a giggle coming from the broom cupboard up ahead. Raising her wand, the door flew open and a pair of Slytherin fifth years fell out. Lily sighed. 'Really, Mathews? Again? Twenty points from Slytherin, each,' Lily turned her glare on the girl, whose name she did not know. 'The two of you will also be joining Professor Slughorn tomorrow evening for detention. Back to your common room, now. If I find you out of bed again, I assure, I'll be taking away much more than forty points.'

Mathews rose with a sour look on his face. 'Don't tell us what to do, mudblood,' he sneered. Not in the mood to deal with the idiot fifth years in front of her, she sighed. 'That's very mature. Let's take another ten points then. I assure you, Mathews, this can go on all night.'  
'You can't do that,' he snapped.  
'That's funny. Because I think I just did,' she glared back at him. 'To your common room. Now!'

With one last glare, the pair scurried away from the head girl's venomous gaze. Straightening her robes, Lily continued on down the corridor as if nothing had happened. It had only been two weeks into term when she got her sister's owl. Three weeks after her sister had married that fat oaf, Vernon Dursley. It had been unfortunate that she received the letter right before walking into transfiguration. Eager to see what could have been so urgent that the owl came at such an inconvenient time, Lily had hastily opened it before she even set her books down. Rather than sit herself down in shock, Lily had run. Her books had gone flying as she legged it to the door, desperate to escape the classroom.

Sitting down by the lake, she had cried herself out. All because of a stupid car crash, they were gone. Lily wasn't much of a crier so needless to say, to see the head girl burst into tears had shocked the entire transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall had sent the head boy after her when she fled. In all truthfulness, he'd have gone with or without her consent. He'd found her under a tree by the like, head against her knees, shoulders shaking with grief. He'd said nothing. Not one word. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry herself out. When Lily had stopped crying, she hadn't said a word. Nor did she move away from his arms. It was much later, after they had been sitting there for who knows how long when she spoke. 'I'm alone. They're gone. I've got nothing.' Her voice had been empty. Dead.  
'You're not alone, Lily. We're all here. You've got Emmaline and Marlene. You've got us all. We're still here. Don't ever think you're alone,' he'd replied fiercely. Much later, Lily had realised that it was his strong arms around her that had stopped her from falling to pieces.  
It had seemed strange for both to find Lily Evans wrapped in James Potter's arms of all people. While they were not on particularly good terms, Lily had been desperate for someone or something to hold her together and if that support came from James Potter, so be it.

He had neither teased her nor been rude. He'd simply been there. After a while, James had led her zombie like state up to the common room where he managed to find Emmeline and Marlene who had taken her to bed. The next day had been spent cooped up in the common room until Lily had been ready to face the reality that her parents were gone. And all the while, James had been there. They rarely spoke or touched again during that time, but he was there. Watching, waiting and protecting. It was James who diverted the unwanted prying questions of other students away and made sure that there was food for her to eat. It had been James who had stayed by her, falling asleep on the couch while she stared at the flames in the fireplace. And not once did they speak. She would be forever grateful to James Potter. Who'd have thought.

Lily had thought it mad for Dumbledore to appoint him head boy but over the past few weeks, he'd proved himself time and time again. Not once had he been late to meetings and the majority of the pranks he and the other Marauders had pulled had all been hilarious rather than dangerous. Were they friends? Perhaps not, but they were close. Lily was a trusting girl so she had readily believed that James had grown up and deflated that overlarge ego. It had been clear to her when he helped her cope with the news about her parents. The next day, she had gone to find him. Unsure of what to say to him she'd only managed to whisper a quick, 'thanks for your help, Potter. I really appreciate it.' To her surprise, rather than gloat about touching her, he'd only given her a small, slightly solemn smile before replying, 'don't mention it Evans. I hope you're alright,' before scampering off with Sirius Black.

Lily had been observing their behaviour over the past few weeks and found herself enjoying their company more and more. She supposed that currently, they were in a position of acquaintances with the possibility of friendship. Would it really be so bad to be the friend of James Potter? She'd spent the past six years frustrated by that boy and his friends. But now, he wasn't the same boy she'd grown up with, she mused. He was different. And she liked it. By no means was he as studious as she or as serious as the Slytherins, a new prank would be pulled on at least a weekly basis, but they didn't harm anyone. She'd also noticed that he no longer hexed people for the sake of it. Though he'd retaliate in kind if anyone dared to attack him or his friends. This, she didn't mind. How many times had she herself sent a stinging hex after a Slytherin who dared to cover Marlene in boils or turned Emmaline's skin blue?

No, she liked the new James Potter a great deal. Perhaps he really wasn't so bad. Perhaps it was almost a shame really, that he had stopped asking her out. She pushed these thoughts out of her head though when she heard a noise coming out from behind a tapestry. Wand at the ready, she pushed the tapestry away to find, to her surprise, a corridor on the floor of which sat none other than James Potter.

James didn't react when the tapestry was pulled away. Honestly, Lily wasn't even sure if he realised she was there. Tentatively, she knelt down and reached out her hand to grasp his shoulder. 'Potter? Are you alright?'  
He didn't react for a moment before he handed her a short piece of parchment.

_Dear Mr J. Potter, _she read.  
_It brings me great grief to inform you that a Death Eater attack was reported on the Potter Mansion last night. Thirty five bodies were discovered within the house. Thirty three of these belonged to Death Eaters. Sadly, the other two were Mr Charlus M. Potter and Mrs Dorea C. Potter. The entirety of the Potter assets including Potter Mansion and the contents of the Potter vault at Gringotts now belong to you. If we can provide you with any more assistance, please send us and owl and we will do the best we can. _

_Your parents were valuable aurors to the Ministry and we are greatly saddened by your loss. It is believed that the cause of the attack was due to their affiliation with the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation created with the sole purpose of defeating Lord Voldemort. We are unaware of your involvement with any such group however it was decreed that being of age; you are given the right to know the cause of their death. _

_It is likely that they were approached by Voldemort firstly to join his cause and leave the Order before being tortured for information upon refusal. Failure to gain intel was likely the cause of their murder. It pains us to be forced to provide you this information through this letter however it is necessary for reasons that cannot at this moment be disclosed. It is of the utmost importance that this letter is destroyed as soon as possible._

_Moody.  
Head of the Magical Law Enforcement. _

Lily sat back in shock. The Order of the Phoenix? She'd never heard of such a thing. But that wasn't what was important. James had just lost his parents through _murder_. Not just that but they had been tortured. 'Oh, James,' she whispered. James did not cry, instead he sat with his shoulder hunched in with his head in his hands. 'They're gone. He had them killed,' he said, anger filling his voice. There was no hint of grief. His eyes looked almost deranged. It didn't fool Lily. His eyes were red rimmed and it was clear that he had cried away his grief before she found him. Now instead of the emptiness she had felt, he felt anger at Voldemort. 'The bastard had them murdered,' he hissed. Lily did not remove her hand from his shoulder.

'They were fighting him,' James whispered, a hint of pride filling his voice, 'but now they're gone. Gone. No more fighting. Nothing left,' he whispered, almost broken. Lily was furious. Wrapping her arms around him, Lily refused to let go. 'We're still here, James Potter. We're still here. We're still fighting. We'll finish what they started, James. Voldemort will curse the day he dared to mess with the Potter's. It's not over, James. It will never be over. We'll make him pay for what he's done,' she said in determination. Voldemort needed to be stopped and Lily Evans had had enough. The elder Potters may have gone, but their son was still breathing and as Lily spoke, a fiery determination overcame him, burning in the hazel eyes he lifted to meet the emerald ones staring down at him with a fire in them to match his own. 'Don't give up, James. Your parents died fighting for the good of both the wizarding and muggle worlds. Maybe it's time for us to make a stand. We can fight in this war, James. We can make Voldemort pay for what he's done.'

**A/N: So that's the first chapter. The war of it will come into the story a little later but this is just setting it up. First, it's gonna be focusing on the school and of course, the relationship between James and Lily. I'd love for you all to drop me a review and/or follow this story. I'm really hoping to update soon.**

**Much love,**

**ForeverProngs**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here's chapter 2! I would really appreciate it if you guys could leave me a review. Thank you! **

**Dsiclaimer: It's not mine. Hogwarts may be my home, but it's not mine. It's killing me but alas... What can I do?**

The next morning, Lily woke up exceptionally early. Rather than wait for her friends to wake up, she hurried down the stairs to find Sirius Black waiting for her. 'Black?' she asked. 'What are you doing down here so ridiculously early in the morning?'

She noticed that he looked rather solemn, an expression that she had never before seen on his youthful and undeniably attractive face. She'd never fall for his perfect smile herself, but one simply couldn't argue his attractiveness.

'I wanted to thank you, Evans.'  
Lily was even more surprised. 'What for?' she asked.  
'Well, you know how James got that letter yesterday from Moody... He was obviously really upset. We tried to cheer him up a bit but he wasn't in too good shape when he left for a walk. We figured it'd be best to let him go alone. Besides, we all needed a bit of space to wrap our heads around it.'

Lily's heart swelled up with pity for the young man. It was a well known fact that Sirius had lived with the Potter's for a while now. They were like his parents too. 'How are you, Sirius?' she asked hesitantly. 'I'll be alright, Evans,' he smiled sadly. 'Losing loved ones... Let's just say it isn't a new experience for me.'  
It broke Lily's heart to hear him say that.  
'But this isn't about me. It's about James. I don't know what you said to him, Evans, but it worked. You brought back the fire in him. We came down to find him burning the letter. He said that he was going to do everything he possibly could to bring Voldemort down. Even before, James and I had been pretty set on fighting in this war. Now, James is absolutely, unequivocally determined to do whatever he can. When he gets out of Hogwarts, that's his mission. Whatever you said, it's given him the strength to keep going. So, I wanted to thank you,' he said earnestly.

'Don't thank me, Sirius. I was only telling him the truth. Voldemort's caused far too much damage. It's time to put an end to this. Even if the Potters are gone, we're still here. We can still fight this.'

Sirius smiled. 'Ever the Gryffindor. Well you won't find us contradicting you.' He looked over her shoulder for a moment before hastily saying goodbye and exiting the common room. She was still mid wave when she heard a throat clear behind her. James Potter was standing on the staircase looking at her a little awkwardly. 'I uhh – I wanted to say-'  
'Don't,' she interrupted. 'Don't thank me. You never really let me thank you either. Besides, I only told you the truth.'  
'You didn't have to help me, you know,' he said softly.  
'I wanted to. Not just because you helped me, but because you deserved it. No one should have to deal with what you're dealing with. I don't like it when you're sad.'  
'Thanks, Evans.'  
'Lily.'  
'What?' he said in confusion.  
'My name. It's Lily,' she said.  
'Oh. Uh, thanks Lily.'  
'Don't mention it, Potter.'  
'James. Call me James.'  
She smiled. 'Well, I should be getting down to breakfast. I'll see you later, James.'  
'Wait,' he called out. 'I'll join you, if you don't mind?'  
'Not at all,' she replied, her smile still in place. 'How are you doing?' she asked as they walked down to the Great Hall.  
'Much better, thanks to you,' he replied with a rueful smile.  
'I'm glad to hear it. If you need anything, let me know, yeah?'  
'Thanks, Lily. I appreciate it.'

Lily took her seat next to Sirius who was already eating while James sat across from her. 'Morning, Prongs,' Sirius said a little too cheerfully.  
'How are you, Sirius?' James said rather seriously.  
'Fine,' he replied unconvincingly.  
'We'll get through this, mate. You know we will,' James replied.  
Before Sirius could respond, another voice yelled out, 'oh, James! I'm so sorry! I can't believe this!' Amanda Jackson threw her arms around James from behind. 'Er, thanks Amanda,' he replied. 'How did you know?'  
'It's in the Daily Prophet!' Amanda replied. Looking up she finally noticed Sirius and Lily. 'Hullo, Black. Evans,' she sneered.

Amanda Jackson and Lily Evans had never gotten along. Ever since third year, Amanda had been infatuated with James and when James fell rather hard for Lily, Amanda's hatred for the pretty redhead increased substantially. Lily never really cared for Amanda's slaggish ways and disinterest in academics. Also, it was difficult to like someone who did everything possible to make sure that she made a fool of herself in front of a certain James Potter at every opportunity available. Lily still had not so fond memories of the time Amanda "accidently" pushed her down the stairs and broke her ankle.

'Jackson! Always a pleasure,' Lily replied, her voice laced with sarcasm. Amanda made a face as she slipped into the seat next to James, her hand never leaving his arm. James looked a little uncomfortable at that and tried to shrug away from her claws. Towards the end of sixth year, Amanda had finally been asked to Hogsmeade by James and had taken great pleasure in rubbing this in Lily's face. Lily didn't mind. At the time, she could hardly stand to be in the same room as James.

'Fancy seeing you here, Evans. You're not usually one for early mornings,' Amanda probed.  
'Actually I think you'd find that I am indeed up early. Perhaps you're just too busy to notice what's going on around you. That would I suppose, require some degree of concentration,' Lily retorted.

As Amanda opened her mouth to respond, Sirius threw his arm over her shoulder and dragged her to her feet. 'Well, we best be heading off, right Evans? We'll be seeing you later in Potions, Prongs,' he said cheerily, ignoring Amanda. 'You know, you can call me Lily. It is my name,' Lily said as he walked her out of the hall. 'Only if you call me Sirius, Lily darling,' Sirius replied with his trademark, charismatic smirk.  
'So what was all that about?' she asked curiously. Sirius looked at her if she was mad.  
'Are you crazy, Lily? You and Amanda were about to start a brawl. I know she doesn't have your smarts but that doesn't mean she's not a formidable opponent when it comes to insults even if they might not be as witty as yours,' he replied. 'I don't know what Prongs sees in the idiot,' he muttered a moment later.

'Well she clearly adores him,' Lily replied.  
'Yeah well he doesn't seem to adore her too much. Pestered him with letters over the summer that one did. James hardly replied to half of them. The girl's a nutter she is. Fingers crossed he dumps her sorry arse soon, yeah?'  
'Why are you telling me of all people?'  
'I do believe, Lily darling, that you're officially a friend of ours. That means you get to know stuff like this.'  
Lily noticed that she was getting quite a few odd looks. She wasn't surprised. Lily Evans walking around with Sirius Black's arm across her shoulder? The whole school must have been dreaming. It was a shock that she hadn't hexed the living daylights out of him yet. 'Sirius, just so you're aware, your arm on my shoulder is receiving numerous dirty looks from numerous members of the female population. I may be slightly terrified that I'll be murdered in my sleep tonight.'

Sirius laughed. Yes. He actually laughed. There she was terrified of being murdered and he laughed. 'Oh, Lily! You're determined to fight Voldemort but terrified of a few teenage girls?'  
Lily gulped. 'I think you fail to understand the devotion of many of these monsters that go under the term "teenage girls." They're really not as innocent as you think they are.'

'Psh. You'll be fine.'  
Lily rolled her eyes. They made their way down to the dungeons and waited outside for the next ten minutes or so. It seemed however that the Hogwarts gossip mill didn't need long to get going. By the time the rest of the class arrived and saw Sirius and Lily conversing like old friends, it really only confirmed what everyone thought they knew.

It was official! Lily Evans was dating Sirius Black! There was no news yet on how James Potter was taking the news that his former long term love (for everyone knew how James had chased Lily in their fifth year to no avail) was dating his best friend. Lily and Sirius were for the time being completely oblivious to the entire story. That was until Lily was minding her own business, making her perfect potion when she got hit on the back of the head with a piece of rolled up parchment. Opening it, she saw it was a note from Marlene. When Lily turned around she saw two very angry looking best friends glaring at her.

_What the HELL are you playing at? Didn't think to tell your two best friends in the whole wide world that you're dating SIRIUS EFFING BLACK? – M&E  
__**WHAT in the name of Merlin are you two talking about? – L, **_she tossed back.  
_That's all anyone was talking about on our way down to potions. "Did you hear? The head girl's dating Sirius Black? They were walking down to the dungeons together! He even had his arm around her shoulder!" –M&E  
__**You're joking! This is ridiculous! I promise you, I'm not dating Sirius Black. It's all just another rumour. You know how people gossip in Hogwarts. We're just friends. Stupid excuse, I know. But it's true! I was eating breakfast with him and James but James got caught up talking to Amanda Jackson. We were done so we left them behind. Seriously, there's nothing going on. –L  
**__Lily Evans, if we find out that you're lying, you're gonna have hell to pay. And since when are you friends with Sirius Black? – M&E  
__**Since this morning... – L  
**__Someone has a lot of explaining to do after class – M&E _

Lily didn't reply. As soon as potions was over, she grabbed her stuff and fled to transfiguration (a subject she was less than brilliant at) and took her assigned seat next to Remus Lupin before Emmaline and Marlene caught her.

Sirius meanwhile had been cornered by James before they entered the classroom. 'So tell me Padfoot, got a new girlfriend?'  
Sirius laughed. 'Me? A girlfriend? That's a good joke, Prongs.'  
'Well I've been hearing the funniest rumours going around...'  
'Oh?'  
'Indeed.' James didn't elaborate at that moment.  
'Well,' said Sirius, I'm afraid I've missed this morning's freshest Hogwarts gossip. I was too busy escorting the lovely Miss Evans down to potions.'  
'Ah well it seems, that you my good friend, are the latest gossip.'  
'Surely not!' Sirius gasped mockingly. 'What dirt have they _supposedly_ got on me now?' his tone now flat and dry.

'It seems, my dear Padfoot, you've gone and got yourself a girlfriend. And said girlfriend is supposedly none other than the very same lovely Miss Evans that you escorted down to potions this morning.'

There was a moment of silence before Sirius burst out laughing. 'M-me an- and L- Lily-flower?' he got in through his laughter. 'Oh this is just golden!'  
'Is it true?'  
'W-Why?' Sirius snorted. 'Jealous, Prongsy?' he said, bursting out into laughter all over again at the shock and anger on James' face. Before James could stop him, Sirius had run off, cackling like the maniac he was, straight into transfiguration.

Taking his seat in front of Lily, he quickly scribbled something on a piece of parchment and threw it behind him, right before James stomped in furiously and took his seat next to his best mate.

Lily caught the parchment and opened it.

_How about you and I play a little prank, Lily-flower?  
__**What kind of prank? **_She replied.  
_Well it's come to my attention that there are a few rumours doing the rounds that concern us. I was thinking that maybe we should give them something to REALLY talk about. While of course we neither confirm nor deny the existence of any form of relationship?_

Lily couldn't believe it. She did suppose though... It would be rather funny. But what a terrible thing to do! But... Perhaps just for a little while... It couldn't hurt after all.

_**Alright**_, she threw back.  
_Excellent. I'll meet you by in the common room tonight at seven. _She could almost see the smirk through the parchment.  
'What are you smirking about,' she heard James whisper to him grouchily.  
'I, my dear friend, just got myself a hot date for tonight,' Sirius replied smugly.  
'With who,' James asked suspiciously, glaring at the parchment that had been thrown back and forth between Sirius and Lily.  
'Now, now, Prongs. Let's not be nosy,' Sirius taunted. James responded with a very rude hand gesture. 'Deary me, Prongs. What in the name of Merlin has got your wand in such a tight knot?'  
James proceeded to ignore him.

Lily had to admit, it really was all rather entertaining. She stifled a giggle as Remus turned to look at her. 'You wouldn't happen to know what's going on, would you?' he asked her.  
'Wouldn't have a clue,' she grinned, a twinkle shining brightly in her eyes.

At the end of class, before either Sirius or Lily could be accosted by their respective friends, Sirius had offered Lily his arm and the two walked out of the room amidst the curious stares of their classmates. When they sat in the Great Hall for lunch, Sirius decided that the best way to avoid answering their friends would be to eat elsewhere. Quick as lightning, Lily conjured a basket and filled it with as much food as possible before Sirius, in front of the entire Great Hall, kissed her on the cheek just as James, Amanda, Marlene and Emmaline walked in. With a quick wave to their friends, the pair walked out barely controlling their laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello readers! Another chapter for you all. I hope you're as excited as I am!  
Disclaimer: No, the Harry Potter world does not belong to me. Jo Ro is our queen.**

'You slag!' she screamed as she dumped a goblet of pumpkin juice all over Lily's head. 'How dare you!' the girl shrieked. 'HOW DARE YOU!'

Never had Lily seen someone so enraged but for that matter, never had she herself been so enraged. After successfully avoiding everyone the day before and pretending she was asleep by the time her friends entered their dormitory, so far Lily had avoided their questions. What she had not expected, was to come down to breakfast and be attacked by a some sixth year slag for supposedly dating Sirius Black.

Speak of the devil, Sirius entered the hall looking harried and hurried over to her. 'Lily!' he exclaimed in shock. Lily turned to look at him, pumpkin juice still dripping from her hair. 'Hello, Sirius,' she replied cheerfully. 'I see you're looking dry this morning. Pity your fan club couldn't give me the gift of dryness.'

Sirius didn't seem to know what to say. Instead, he settled for cleaning up the mess with his wand. Once Lily was sufficiently dry, he turned to face the fuming sixth year who apparently couldn't figure out that it was time to run before the head girl did something drastic. 'You'd think they'd know by now,' she muttered to Sirius as she pulled out her wand. Sirius nodded in agreement, knowing that this was Lily's battle. 'Now, I don't know your name and I really don't care what it is but you should get one thing straight. Whatever your problem is with me, it does not give you the right to pour pumpkin juice all over me. Disrespecting me as a human being is bad enough but as head girl, you're really not very bright, are you? Fifteen points from Gryffindor for the complete disregard and lack of respect for the head girl. Plus detention. I expect you to see Professor Sprout this evening at seven,' Lily said with quiet anger.

It seemed however that the girl was not yet done. 'Sirius! How could you? We had something special! How could you leave me for this SLAG?' she screamed at him. They'd gained quite the audience. James and Amanda were standing not far off while Marlene was staring at them apprehensively from the end of the table. 'Erm, do I know you?' Sirius asked bemusedly.

This apparently was the wrong thing to say. With a scream of indignation the girl lunged at Lily shouting profanities, claiming that she had drugged Sirius to forget her. Before she was halfway across the table however, she fell on top of the food, stunned. Lily was looking at her with disdain, her wand raised. '_Really_, Sirius?' she said dryly.

'I swear I have no clue who she is!' he insisted.  
'Well I'm sure that's all very well but seeing as this is all your fault, you can take her up to the hospital wing,' Lily ordered. Sirius looked gobsmacked.  
'But I'll miss breakfast! I can't miss _breakfast_!'  
'Sure you can. I didn't intend on having my pumpkin juice poured all over my head and you didn't expect to miss breakfast. I think that makes us even. ALL of this is your fault. If you hadn't let this poor dunderhead of a slag think there was something going on between the two of you, she wouldn't have attacked me and I wouldn't have retaliated in self defence. Therefore, you can take her,' Lily insisted, a slightly scary gleam appearing in her eye. The crowd that had surrounded them during the confrontation was beginning to disperse but Sirius was still staring at Lily with a look of absolute shock on his face. 'I hate you, Evans,' he muttered as her conjured a stretcher and levitated the girl onto it.

'Love you too, sweetheart,' Lily grinned, batting her eyelashes. Sirius sent her a withering look as her took the girl away. 'Well you've sure had an interesting morning, haven't you Lily,' Marlene said brightly as she took her seat next to her best friend. 'A great deal of help you were. Great friend you are,' Lily grouched.  
Marlene shrugged nonchalantly. 'You handled it fine on your own. And how many times have you warned Em and me to not interfere when you're getting revenge?'

That wasn't the point but Lily did not feel inclined to argue at that moment. 'Well, well, well. Who'd have thought that precious head girl Evans would be labelled a slag in front of the entire Great Hall?' Amanda smirked down at her. 'Oh, sorry about that, Jackson. I hate to take your title away from you. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the ball rolling again soon,' Lily smiled at her a little too kindly.

Just as she was about to retort, James joined them. 'You alright, Lily?'  
'Fine thanks, James. Nothing more than a little pumpkin juice to help my complexion after all,' she grinned.  
'So what was all that about anyway? Why would Samantha Carter label you a slag?' he asked.  
'Apparently she doesn't like it too much when Sirius Black is friends with members of the opposite gender to himself. Talking to him appears to set half the female population into a frenzy. Completely mental that one was. I knew some of these girls are mad but this one really needs help. Total tosser,' Lily replied.

'And this all happened because you're friends with him?' James asked suspiciously.  
Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Surely you'd know how possessive females are of Sirius, James.'  
'Well you don't seem to concerned,' Amanda piped in. 'In fact, you look rather smug. Why would that be, Evans?'  
'I wouldn't know, Jackson,' Lily shrugged. 'But if you'll excuse me, I do believe I have to go figure out how to make Sirius pay.'  
'What?' James looked confused. 'You already deprived him of his breakfast. What could possibly be a worse punishment than that?'  
Lily sighed. Perhaps it was cruel of her. 'You're right. I'll take him some breakfast so I can plan his demise in piece. Satisfied?'

She didn't wait for an answer before she grabbed several pieces of buttered toast and a napkin. 'I'll see you all later. Can't keep Sirius waiting now can I.' Lily smiled coyly at their bemused expressions before scampering off.

'Sirius!' she called as she saw his dark head turning around the corner of a fifth floor corridor.  
'What, Evans?' he snapped. She pouted playfully.  
'That's no way to speak to the girl you adore so much, especially considering she brought you breakfast!' she announced proudly. Sirius's scowl vanished to be replaced by a large grin.  
'Oh, Lily flower! I knew you wouldn't let me starve! Have I ever told you how much I love you?' he yelped, wrapping her in a huge bear hug just as James walked past. 'Easy there, Padfoot. You'll crush the breakfast if you hug her any harder,' he said with a slightly bitter grimace that Sirius did not miss. 'Yes, Sirius. Listen to James. Do you or do you not want your toast?' Lily lifted the breakfast when Sirius released her. Without looking at the two, Sirius lunged for the toast and shoved them into his mouth in an exceptionally ungraceful manner.

As James and Lily watched, Sirius's perfect black hair began to change. First slowly but then with more speed, the once luscious black hair turned a rather bright shade of purple. Yes. Purple.

As James opened his mouth to say something, Lily lunged at him and covered his mouth with her hands. It was rather unfortunate that that was the moment Amanda Jackson decided to join them. 'One boyfriend not enough, Evans? Must you throw yourself at others?' she said, shooting Lily a hateful glare.  
'Actually, Jackson... I think you'll find I was just stopping James from saying anything to Sirius. No doubt Sirius will reply and it's terribly rude to talk with one's mouth full. And he's such an animal when he eats as it is,' Lily replied smoothly, letting go of James but shooting him a warning look to not mention the hair.

Sadly, Amanda was not capable of shutting her mouth. 'What in the name of Merlin happened to your hair, Black?'  
'Why, jealous of its beauty, Jackson?' he replied suavely, completely unaware of anything being amiss.  
'Yes!,' James blurted out to stop Amanda from saying anything. 'It looks fabulous as always, Padfoot. But if you'll excuse us, Amanda and I have places to be.' He grabbed Amanda's hand and ran from the corridor before she decided to say anything else and ruin what was obviously a master prank that was being pulled by none other than the "perfect" head girl, Lily Evans. Before he left however, James did shoot Lily a quick look that blatantly screamed three words at her. _You will explain_.

Lily gulped. 'Am I missing something?' Sirius asked.  
'No, not at all. We should get to class,' Lily said, perhaps a little too quickly. Thankfully, Sirius didn't notice. As they walked through the throng of students towards their first class, Sirius and Lily ignored the pointing and the stares, Sirius thinking it had something to do with his arm hanging over the head girl's shoulder. How wrong he was.

Just as they walked into charms however, Sirius gave a huge yell. James and Amanda, who were already seated, turned to look at them. 'MY HAIR!' Sirius screamed. 'WHO DID THIS? Why didn't you say anything?' he asked Lily furiously. 'My precious hair!'

As he ran his fingers through his once marvellous locks, James approached him, trying to contain his laughter. 'Calm down, mate. I'm sure you can get your back to normal quickly.'  
'YOU! You did this, didn't you, Evans?' Sirius rounded on her, completely ignoring James. He looked like he was about to throttle her.

Lily meanwhile, seemed unconcerned. 'I most certainly did. It suits you,' she said dryly.  
Sirius looked like he was beyond words. 'Put. This. Right,' he hissed, his left eye had begun twitching terribly.  
'I warned you, Sirius. I told you that I wouldn't stand for your fan girls. I will NOT tolerate pumpkin juice being thrown at my face every morning. Should I find that there are those who continue to plot my demise due to my relation to you, I _assure _you, you will suffer just as much as they do. If I'm going down, you're going down with me.'

Standing on top of the desk, Sirius looked around almost deranged. 'OI! Listen up! I'd like to make it exceptionally clear that I, Sirius Black, am NOT currently in a relationship with the _lovely _head girl, Lily Evans. We are however friends so if ANYONE messes with her, they can expect to go through me first. Understood?' He barked looking livid. 'Good.'

He jumped down and in a much smaller voice gasped, 'now for the love of Merlin, _please _set my hair right, Evans.'  
'Thank you, Sirius. That wasn't so hard was it,' she smiled as she pulled out her wand and returned his hair to its original magnificent state. Sirius looked like he was far too exhausted to respond to her.  
'Remind me,' he hissed, 'to never, ever, ever, directly involve you in any pranks I wish to play.'

Lily smiled smugly. 'As you wish.'  
James turned around in his seat to look at her, looking much happier than he had looked since the previous morning. 'So you're seriously not going out with Sirius?' he asked happily.  
'I'm as single as ever,' she replied. James lit up like a Christmas tree.  
'I've got to hand it to you, Lily. I'm really impressed. I can't believe you pulled off such an amazing prank on Sirius of all people! Although, I should warn you, you may well find yourself as a major target for the next few days. _No one _gets away with messing with Sirius Black's hair. _No one_.'  
'There's a first for everything, James m'dear. If I were Sirius,' she replied loudly so Sirius would hear, 'I'd avoid attacking the very same head girl is more than capable of ensuring that his hair is never the same again. I'd mark her words if I were him.'

They distinctly heard him gulp. Laughing, James turned back to face the front as Professor Flitwick finally arrived. As their professor reviewed the charms she knew so well, Lily smiled smugly. Even though she did not use the pranking talent she obviously possessed most of the time, now that she was ready to have a laugh, perhaps Sirius Black had finally met his match.

**A/N: Well that was fun. I'll perhaps update in a week or so. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! I'll be forever grateful. Reviews make my week so much better. **

**Much love, **

**ForeverProngs.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So it's not as quick an update as the other ones. Sorry. I'm pretty swamped right now though. But I promise I'll try to update as much as possible. I hope you'll forgive me because this one is extra long! **

**Thanks for sticking with me and I'd love it if you guys could review. They mean the world to me as my (few but wonderful) reviewers already know.**

**Disclaimer: James and Lily aren't mine. Neither is Hogwarts. Creys.**

Lily walked through the halls, minding her own business as usual. She was running late and if she tarried any longer, she'd miss curfew and it was likely that Filch would find her. While he was at times easy to fool, it was unlikely that she'd get away with using her "head girl business" excuse this time. She'd already used it the night before and Filch had promised that next time, he'd drag her to see McGonagall to check if she was lying. While Professor McGonagall was nice enough, she was very strict. No doubt she'd hand her over to Filch and take ten points while she was at it.

Before she could take the secret passageway that would allow her to miss several sets of stairs, someone grabbed her arm quickly and dragged her into an empty corridor. 'Severus?' she said in surprise. 'I wanted to talk to you,' he said, his black eyes darting around from under his greasy hair.  
'Evidently,' she replied dryly, shaking off his grasp. Lily didn't take too kindly to being manhandled at all. 'What do you want, Severus?'  
'I- I heard –Is it true?'  
'Is what true?' she asked.  
'Are- are you dating Sirius Black?'  
'Oh. So you heard the rumours, did you? Well if you heard those, you probably heard the ones about Sirius declaring to the entire class, from which you were conspicuously absent, that he was most certainly not dating me,' she snapped.

She had never seen him look so relieved. 'I – I just had to make sure-'  
'You _what_?' Lily grew angry. 'What's it to you? What if I was dating him? Didn't think the love life of a lowly mudblood like me would be so interesting to you,' she glared.  
He looked like she had slapped him in the face. 'Lily – I've told you I'm sorry-'  
'And I've told you I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone Severus.'  
'Lily, please,' he begged, desperation shining in his eyes.  
'No, Severus. I won't stand here and take your crap. You made your choices and I made mine.'  
'I've told you! I was embarrassed. It never would have happened if it hadn't been for Potter!' he insisted, his voice rising.

'Don't bring him into this, Severus-'  
'What so now you're defending him?' Snape interrupted. Lily glared at him.  
'No! I'm not excusing what he did. He was a prat and I won't deny it. And neither would he for that matter. Despite what he did to you, you had no right to take it out on me. You certainly didn't have the right to call me a mudblood.'

Snape flinched. 'If I could take it back I would,' his voice weak.  
Lily's eyes softened. 'But that's not the way life works, Severus. We've each chosen our paths. I'm afraid they head in two very different directions. I can't be friends with you when you've chosen to defy everything I ever believed in. What James did was wrong, but what you did wasn't much better.'  
'Potter's had it out for me ever since we met,' he snapped.  
'And you? Have you really been any better? How many times did you attack him or Sirius? How many times have they ended up in the hospital wing because of you? Don't you dare blame him for this. You've always had it out for him just as much as he's had it out for you. Countless times you've hexed him unprovoked!'  
'You're defending him!' Snape snapped.  
'Well I damn well should considering you're completely wrong about him. He's not the child he once was. What he did was wrong but he knows it! And you were never any better than him. When was the last time he hexed someone without being provoked first? That's right, certainly not at any point this year. I know about the duel you two had last week. I know who started it. And don't tell me Potter's lying because he wasn't the one who told me about it. Mary was there. So don't you dare blame him for your problems! He's grown up Severus. Why can't you?' Lily looked at her old friend sadly before storming past him.

The nerve of him! How dare he! It was always the same, even when they were friends. It was always Potter this and Potter that... It was never Snape's fault. "Potter gave me a dirty look; I know he was planning something. Besides, he tripped me over the day before; he deserved to have his face covered in warts," he'd insist even though half the time, all James had done was look in his general direction, barely processing Snape's existence. Not to mention that tripping him over could easily be an accident, even if James wouldn't be sorry about it. She'd noticed that the quiditch captain was not always as coordinated on the ground as he was on air.

Though, Lily mused, when it came to dancing, he certainly seemed to know what he was doing. His behaviour at the previous year's Christmas Ball was evidence of that. Trudy Cornwall, his date from Ravenclaw, had been overjoyed.

Lily's own date (seventh year Hufflepuff, Simon Trotter) had been less than fabulous meanwhile. It was all she could do to make clear that their relationship could develop no further. Any female who had heard that row (for they had been dating for quite some time) had been almost deliriously happy. While Lily could find many faults with him when attempting to hold a conversation with the arrogant yet stupid fool, there was no way to doubt his good looks. His gorgeous smile was an undeniable fact. Nonetheless, Lily could no longer hold on to a relationship when one of them refused to speak about anything other than quiditch or his dream of finding a career as a model. His academia was resolutely ignored and any attempt from Lily to persuade him to study ended in a huge row. The last straw had come the night before the ball when he burst into tears when she insisted he study for the Transfiguration quiz. She'd have ended it right there and then but he'd run out of the library. He'd resolutely avoided her the entire day after that, forcing her to turn up and join him for a dance.

Unable to stand his presence any longer, Lily had blurted out her inability to pursue a relationship with him. Thankfully, he kept it together but when he stormed away from her in the middle of the dance floor, she'd been left humiliated. That was until James Potter quickly stepped in and began twirling around before anyone could fully comprehend what happened. Lily could personally attest to James' wonderful dancing skills.

He hadn't pursued a conversation with her but had subtly danced her to the side of the dance floor to free her from the crowd as soon as the song finished. Lily hadn't been given a chance to thank him before he disappeared back into the crowd.

She was shaken out of her reverie when someone grabbed her arm again. Truly, she was sick of this. 'What?' she snapped, her wand pointed in her attackers face. Again, it was Snape.  
'Lily! You have to get out of here. Mulciber and Nott are out looking for m-muggleborns,' he hissed, letting go of her.

'You were going to say it again, weren't you,' Lily accused. Snape sighed in frustration.  
'This is not the time, Lily! You're about to be attacked! Run!'

Lily gave him a scathing look. 'I'm a Gryffindor. We don't run from snotty pureblood freaks who think they own the place. I'm surprised you came to warn me. Not in the mood for cursing innocent -'

'Well, well, well,' a voice cut her off.

'Mulciber,' she snapped. 'What can I do for you?'  
'There's nothing you can do, mudblood. Unless of course, you were so inclined to jump off the astronomy tower?'  
Lily rolled her eyes. 'As fun as that would be, I have places to be, brain cells that can be used. Of course, you wouldn't know. That head of yours is as empty as... actually, you know what? I don't know of anything that is _quite _as empty as that head of yours. Who'd a thought.' With that, she walked away.  
'You _filthy_ mudblood! How dare you speak to your superiors like that!'

Lily was truly in no mood to deal with the Slytherin at that point. A braver man than he would have quailed under the look she shot him. Rather than use her wand however, she chose the much more ladylike option.

With a resounding thwack, Lily punched Nikolai Mulicber in the face. So hard, was the attack that his head when flying back into the stone wall behind him, knocking him out cold. Now she raised her wand and sent a stinging jinx at Nott who had been ignored for the most part until then. Snape looked aghast. 'Deal with your friends, Snape,' Lily hissed before walking away.

She didn't want to let Snape know she was hurt but the truth was, Mulciber had a _very _hardhead. Nursing the injured hand gingerly, Lily changed her course and made her way to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey was setting up some beds when she walked in, her hand was hurting a great deal more now but the first thing she noticed was that Remus was lying in a bed looking significantly worse for wear while Sirius and Peter were making him laugh. James was smiling at the fondly while Amanda looked rather bored.

'Can I help you?' Madame Pomfrey asked, not unkindly. Sirius looked up and grinned.  
'Lily!' he called. James turned to look at her in surprise while Amanda sent her a look of loathing. Seeing the look of pain on her face, James jumped up. 'What's wrong?' he asked quickly, concern shining in his eyes.  
'Erm, I think I've hurt my hand. I'm sure it's nothing; I just thought I'd make sure it was alright.'  
Before Madame Pomfrey could answer however, Snape walked in with Nott, whose face was a fair sight worse than normal and an unconscious Mulciber was limply hanging between them as they levitated him over.

Ignoring her, Madame Pompfrey quickly had Mulciber on a bed and began to work away at his bloody head. Sirius whistled lowly. 'Who did that?' he said, a hint of admiration in his voice.

'Poppy, do you have that headache potion?' Professor McGonagall walked in, massaging her head but stopped when she saw Lily and the Slytherins. 'What in the name of Merlin happened here?' she asked.

'He's out cold,' the nurse said grimly. 'But there's no sign of magic on this one. He's got a broken nose and will have a terrible headache when he wakes up but he'll be fine.' She turned to Nott and handed him a potion that returned his face to normal. 'You,' he spat.

'Oh, look! The troll speaks,' Lily drawled. She would have to admit, it was not perhaps the smartest thing she could have said at that point but she was still too furious to take that into consideration.

'Miss Evans, what on Earth happened?'  
'Well, Professor, I was walking along minding my own business when these _charming_ young Slytherins thought they'd stop for a chat. Feeling duly insulted by their (not surprisingly) unintelligent comments, I punched Mulciber in the face and jinxed, Nott.' Lily glared at the Slytherins while she spoke.  
McGonagall looked horrified. 'And why, pray tell, is his head injured? If you only punched him in the nose, surely he wouldn't have been knocked out.'  
'Well you see Professor,' Lily said earnestly, 'it was rather unfortunate that his head flew backwards into the wall behind him. It really wasn't my fault. I never meant to knock him out, I only ever wanted to break his nose.'

'You are the Head Girl, Miss Evans. This behaviour is unacceptable. Twenty points from Gryffindor. You will also be joining me for detention tomorrow evening and Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this,' the Professor said sternly.

Lily shrugged. As far as she was concerned, it was totally worth it. As McGonagall took her potion and left, she saw that the Marauders were looking at her with gobsmacked expressions on their faces. 'Who are you and what the hell have you done with Lily Evans?' Sirius said in awe.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him. 'Come here, Miss Evans. Let me take a look at that hand,' the nurse said. 'I don't know what you've done but there's a hairline fracture. I'll heal it but I'm giving you a bandage to support it for a few days,' she said after a few moments of prodding. Lily made a face.

James was hovering around looking concerned. 'You _broke _it? Merlin, Lily! Why'd you have to go punch him?'  
Lily snorted. 'Puh-lease. As if you wouldn't have. You'd probably do something worse,' she accused.  
'Yes,' James nodded in agreement. 'But I wouldn't have broken my hand while I was at it.'  
'It's a hairline fracture! That's nothing,' she insisted.  
'Leave her alone, Prongs,' Sirius piped up. 'I've never been so proud of her in my life! Remind me to get you something extra special this Christmas,' he grinned, pretending to wipe away a tear of pride from his eye. Lily grinned. 'I knew you'd be pleased, Sirius.' The whole time, Amanda was watching with an ugly look on her face. 'James, I'm tired. I have to get up early tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow,' she got up and made a point of kissing him thoroughly before leaving.  
'Thanks for coming, Amanda! I appreciate it!' Remus called after her jokingly. Sirius rolled his eyes.

'Seriously, James. That's one strange bird you've got there,' he said with a dramatic sigh. 'I liked it better when you were pining after our seemingly dangerous head girl.' James smacked him upside the head.

'Miss Evans, I'd rather you stay here for an hour or so just to make sure you don't have any allergic reactions to the potion I gave you. I don't believe you've taken one before so it's better safe than sorry,' Madame Pomfrey said absently as she continued to clean up Mulciber's rather bloody face.

Feeling as if she'd been rebellious enough for the night, Lily obediently sat on one of the beds. Soon, Mulciber was awake and after a quick barrage of potions, was sent on his way. It seemed he was well acquainted with the Hogwarts nurse's medicines. Soon James and Sirius left with Peter after Remus insisted that they get some sleep.

Lily looked at Remus hesitantly. In truth, she had known about his issue for a while. It wasn't for nothing that she was top of their year. She'd never mentioned it however because truly, what does one say when accusing a friend of being a werewolf?

'Remus, what are you doing here? What happened?'

Remus paled considerably. 'I- I got into a bit of a scuffle and then fell down a few flights of stairs,' he said hastily.  
'How's your mom doing?' she asked innocently.  
'She's fine. Absolutely fine.'  
'But didn't you go to see her last night because she was ill?'  
'Ah- yes. I did. But she's all better now.'  
'I'm glad to hear it. It's a pity you weren't here last night. Hogwarts is such a nice place to view the full moon from, don't you think?'  
'Er-yes. Certainly,' he agreed.

Lily sighed. He clearly wasn't going to cave. 'I know, Remus,' she said softly. 'I know where you really went. And I know why.'

Remus blanched. 'You – you what? What are you talking about?'  
'You can stop lying. I know the truth,' she looked at him kindly.  
'I'm so sorry, Lily. I know you must think that I'm such a monster but please-'  
'You WHAT?' she yelled. 'Remus, you're no monster. I'm the one that's sitting here because she knocked a bloke out. You're here because you can't help it. You're no monster.'  
Remus looked miserable. Lily wasn't sure if anything she was saying was getting through to him. 'I'm sorry, Lily. But please, I'm begging you! Don't tell anyone. I know I'm a monster, I'm sure you're horrified at even the thought of being in the same room as a creature like me, but please,' he pleaded, desperation glowing in his eyes.

'Remus! Stop! Of course I won't tell anyone. You're a human being, just like the rest of us. I happen to rather enjoy your company and if this is all a ploy to try and get rid of me, it's not gonna work. You're stuck with me buddy. We're friends whether you like it or not,' she said sternly.

Remus looked at her with his mouth hanging open. 'You-what?' She'd never seen anyone look so relieved in her entire life. He looked as if he were about to cry he was so happy. 'Thank you,' he said earnestly.

Lily looked rather fierce at that moment. 'Don't you dare ever thank me, Remus Lupin. Don't ever thank me for treating you like you deserve.' With that, she left him in his (relieved) thoughts.

When Lily arrived in her dormitory, everyone else was already asleep. On her pillow however, was a letter from Petunia. Opening it, her eyes scanned the page, barely taking it in. Tears filled her eyes and her good mood flew out the window. Petunia was getting married to Vernon Dursley, a man who hated her and would give Petunia the "normalcy" she so desired. Lily was about to lose her sister forever for Dursley hated her and would have nothing to do with her.

Not wanting to wake the others, Lily made her way down the staircase to the common room where she found Sirius mumbling to himself as he completed the last of his defence essay. Noticing someone's arrival, he turned to find a tear stained head girl walking down the staircase. 'Lily?' he asked hesitantly.

Lily jumped slightly when she heard his voice. 'She's gone, Sirius. I've lost my sister. She's marrying that muggle. I'll never be able to speak to her again. He hates me so,' she cried. Sirius didn't know what to do. He too had lost a sibling to prejudice. Regulus was gone and he'd never get him back. Enveloping Lily in his arms, he let her cry herself out while trying to calm her down. 'It'll be alright,' he whispered.  
'No it won't,' she sobbed. 'Nothing will be alright. I've lost her.'

It was a long time before she cried herself out, completely destroying Sirius's shirt. But she found comfort in his arms and they remained that way until the two fell asleep.

James woke up the next morning surprisingly early. To his surprise, Sirius's bed was left undisturbed; he'd clearly not returned last night. Probably with a girl, James mused to himself, shaking away the remains of his sleep driven state. The next Hogsmeade trip would be coming soon and in all honesty, James was not looking forward to it. He did not appreciate Amanda's clinginess and the truth of it was, Amanda was a bitch. The biggest reason why he was unhappy however was that... Amanda wasn't Lily. Amanda didn't like his friends and she was too slaggy to have any. They really had nothing in common. Perhaps, he should just end it. He was sick and tired of trying to move on from Lily when Amanda did nothing but remind him of how perfect Lily was, especially in comparison to herself.

Dressing quickly, he figured if he was lucky, he'd be able to catch her before she went down for breakfast. Grabbing his watch, he realised that he was far earlier than he had thought. Slowing down, he walked down the stairs to the common room and nearly fell off the last step. Lying on the couch was none other than his own best friend, Sirius Black with an arm hanging protectively over Lily who happened to by lying right beside him. Both of them were still dressed in yesterday's clothes and neither looked particularly peaceful.

What the hell was going on? Why in the name of Merlin would Sirius and Lily be sleeping on a couch together? Before he could move, Amanda came rushing down the stairs and ran straight into James, knocking them both onto the ground. The noise made Sirius stir. 'Whazgoinon?' he said sleepily. 'Lily?'

Now more awake, Sirius shifted in an attempt to move Lily as little as possible as he got up from the couch. Despite his best efforts, she began to stir. 'I'm not cut out for this kind of thing,' he muttered to himself.

James cleared his throat. 'What are you doing Sirius?'  
'I thought you said they weren't dating,' Amanda piped up.  
'We're not,' Sirius insisted. 'Lily had a rough night. I was just being a good friend. We must have fallen asleep. It was pretty late.'

Sirius turned away from the two as Amanda attempted to give her boyfriend a belated good morning kiss. Instead, James turned away from her and pulled her into a corner. 'Listen, Amanda... I don't think it's gonna work out between us. We're just so different and I can't see us moving forward. Besides, this is NEWT year. We're all going to be so busy soon, I think it's best we end it now before we just drift too far apart. I'm really sorry,' he told her.

Amanda looked livid. 'This is _her _fault isn't it?' she snapped. '_Evans_!' she shrieked. Lily was still looking groggy as she got off the sofa. 'What's happening?' She froze as she saw an angry Amanda Jackson storming over to her. Sirius leapt in front of her protectively. 'Lay off her, Jackson,' he warned.

James was looking at Amanda disapprovingly. 'Lily has nothing to do with this,' he insisted. 'Leave her out of this.'  
'Of course this involves her! It always has! The stupid slag is _always _a part of this! Do you think I'm stupid?' she snapped.

Now, the very honest answer here was that yes, James did indeed think she was stupid but very wisely, he kept his mouth shut. 'No! Of course I don't. I'm being serious here, leave her out of this,' James insisted, now getting very angry.

Lily had stood there as Amanda screamed abuse at her but it was really now too much. After last night, she was not prepared to wake up to this. Eyes filling with fresh new tears, she turned on her heel and fled the common room.

'Now look what you've done!' Sirius snapped at Amanda and James angrily. Sending Amanda a scathing look he ran after Lily, with James hot on his heels.

**A/N: Well there are still many twists and turns and relationships to be made and broken before we get anywhere near to the finish... I just hate Amanda. Sorry. Anyways, I will try and update again soon but it might take a week or so. There's still a big explanation on the Amanda/James relationship to come so be prepped, guys! There's sooo much more that I've got planned for our favourite head boy and girl! **

**Virtual cookies to all who review and much love to those who favourite and follow as well! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm trying my best to update as much as possible... That's all I can really say. Thank you again for the lovely review/s. I'm rather disappointed that I have so few but I'm here to write, not throw a hissy fit until I get a thousand reviews. Anyways... This chapter will reveal a little more about the whole Amanda/James relationship and everyone gets to say hello to a new character. I hope you like him. **

**TO MY LOVELY ANONYMOUS REVIEWER: THANK YOU! I appreciate that you took the time to write that review and as far as I'm concerned, your cookie is whatever kind you want! **

**Disclaimer: Everything is Jo's. It's heart shattering **

Sirius found Lily sitting under a tree near the Black Lake. 'Lily,' he said softly. She didn't react. Sitting down beside her, he slung his arm over her shoulder. 'I don't know what to do,' she whispered. 'I-I'm sorry about last night and... now.'  
'Don't be sorry,' Sirius replied. 'I know how you feel. I've lost a sibling too.'  
'I suppose that's why I just spilled everything to you,' Lily mused. 'I'm still sorry. You shouldn't have had to deal with that. Crying females are not fun.'  
'Don't mention it. It gave me a reason not to do my homework,' he joked. Lily smiled slightly but it didn't reach her eyes.  
'James is looking for you too,' Sirius said suddenly. 'He's near the Astronomy Tower.'  
'How'd you know to find me here?' Lily asked.  
'I know you better than you think, Evans. You always come here when you're sad.'  
'I shouldn't have reacted the way I did to Jackson.'  
'You had a rough night. No one ones to be woken up to a screaming Amanda Jackson anyway. Although, I am surprised you didn't hex her. I wouldn't worry though. By the looks of things, James will do it for you.'

Lily gasped. 'Oh, no! He can't! He's head boy!'  
Sirius snorted. 'And did that stop you from punching Mulciber in the face? Jackson was being a bitch. She deserves what she gets.'

'I'm gonna miss this, you know? The lake. The castle... This is our last year here.'  
Sirius nodded in agreement. 'I'm gonna miss the peace. There's a war going on right outside the gates and soon, we're gonna be right in the middle of it.'

Lily sighed. Sirius was right, Lily was a muggleborn and was already a target. And Sirius, he just liked to cause trouble. No chance of him sitting around with Voldemort on the loose. For that moment however, she was content to sit there with her friend and take in the beauty of the peace that surrounded them.

James was running down a corridor when Remus ran into him. 'James! I checked the map. Lily and Sirius are by the lake.'

James was gone before he could even blink.

Running down towards the lake, he saw Sirius and Lily sitting under a tree. They were muttering to each other quietly, the rest of the world seemed nonexistent.

'Lily?' James said hesitantly from behind her. Sirius and Lily jumped. Turning to face him, Lily tried not to look upset but she didn't fool him. He knew her too well. How many times had he watched every little emotion flutter across her face in class? He knew all her expressions.  
'I'm sorry about Amanda. She had no right to yell at you like that,' he said sincerely.  
Lily blushed. She felt so stupid about the whole ordeal. It was so unlike her, she felt like diving into the lake and not coming up from the sheer embarrassment of it. 'Don't worry about it. It's nothing really.' And it was.

A look of comprehension fluttered across James' face. 'That's not what upset you, is it? There's something else. Sirius knows,' he said turning on his best friend.

Sirius blanched. 'No,' Lily cut in smoothly. 'It's nothing. Don't worry about it.'  
He didn't look like he bought it. '_Really_,' she emphasised.

And that was the truth of it. She no longer felt upset. Lily had been in tears the night before but the only reason she feel apart that morning because she was simply incapable of handling such a situation after the events of the previous night. Now that she had time to sort through everything, she was fine. 'I mean it,' she continued when he didn't believe her. It was touching that he cared so much but she wasn't lying.

'I have homework to do,' she continued. 'And I could probably use a shower. Besides, Mary is probably wondering where I am. Not to mention Alice,' she said fondly. Turning to face Sirius, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. 'Thank you. For everything,' she whispered.  
'Don't mention it, Ginger.'  
Lily let the comment slide as she pulled away to face James. 'And thank you, James. I appreciate it.'  
'Appreciate what?' he said in confusion.  
'It wasn't your mess to clean up but it was nice of you to come and apologize anyway.'  
'Oh.'

Lily smiled again. She seemed to do that a lot on the presence of the Marauders. 'I'll see you guys around.'

Making her way back up to the castle, Lily glanced behind herself to see James and Sirius talking to each other looking grim. James was nodding to something Sirius said and clapped him on the shoulder. Turning away, Lily walked through the doors and made her way up the staircase. Just as she reached the seventh floor she was tackled by a very pretty, short, dark haired, seventh year witch.

'Alice!' Lily cried out in surprise.  
'LILY EVANS WHERE _HAVE _YOU BEEN?' The normally calm and collected Alice looked to be on the verge of murder.  
'I'm sorry, Alice,' Lily replied honestly. 'I found out last night that Petunia was marrying that oaf, Vernon Dursley. I decided to get up early and go for a walk.'  
'Don't you lie to me! I woke up in the middle of the night and you weren't there. I checked the bathroom and you weren't there either! I've been up since then waiting for you,' Alice snapped.

Lily's considered telling her everything. Before she could stop herself, everything came spilling out of her mouth. 'Alice! You won't believe what happened. I have so much to tell you. I wasn't lying but... Oh, I've made such a fool of myself.'

Alice took one look at the distraught red head before grabbing her arm and pulling her up to their empty dormitory. 'Where are the others?' Lily asked.  
'Probably at the library or outside enjoying the sun before winter comes,' Alice said vaguely. 'Now tell me what's happened.'

Sitting on their respective beds, Lily launched into her story; mentioning every detail of how she found the letter, how Sirius was there for her, how Amanda Jackson attacked her, how James and Sirius were found her and even all they said.

'Oh, Lily. I wouldn't worry. I know that they can be jerks but their hearts are in the right place. When it comes down to it, they're good people. I'm sure they didn't mind,' Alice advised.  
'I certainly hope so, Alice,' Lily replied worriedly.

Alice looked at her with concern before deciding to change the topic. 'Tomorrow's Sunday. It's a Hogsmeade weekend. Are you going with anyone?'  
'No,' Lily shook her head. 'No one's asked me. I assumed you're going with Frank?'  
Alice blushed in reply. Ignoring Lily's grin, she led her friend to the bathroom and locked her in, insisting that she couldn't come out till she'd showered and looked presentable.

Pushing the dramatics of the last twelve hours out of her mind, Lily spent her day working on her potions essay for Professor Slughorn. Before she knew it, Remus was sitting down beside her, pulling his transfiguration notes towards himself. 'Been here all day?' he asked.  
'Not that long. I got here around ten,' Lily replied.  
'Yes. It's now four-thirty,' Remus said.  
'WHAT?' Lily cried. 'I have to go! I'll see you later, Remus.'  
'Bye Lily,' he replied cheerily.

Running through the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower, Lily ran head first into a tall figure. Flying backwards, she landed on the ground with a loud "Oompf."  
'I'm so sorry,' she cried. 'I was in a hurry and-James?'  
James looked down at her in surprise. 'Merlin, Lily. Are you alright? You came out of nowhere. Where are you running off to?'  
Lily took his hand and he helped her to her feet. 'I was in the library and Remus told me it was already four-thirty. I know that we have a meeting with Dumbledore at six so I was running to the common room to put all my stuff away so I would have time to help Emmaline with her Charms homework before dinner. I figured we would go see the headmaster right after we ate and I didn't want to be late. Not to mention that right after that we have to start our patrols.'  
'Oh. Well I just came from the common room and I'm pretty sure that Emmaline was getting help from Benjy Fenwick.'

Lily looked surprised. While she didn't mean to sound vain, the truth of the matter was that Lily was far more accomplished in Charms in comparison to Benjy who was in fact, a rather average student at best. But Emmaline most likely had other ideas planned for the two of them so she thought it best not to interrupt. If she still needed help from Lily, she could get it another day.  
'Oh. Alright. Erm, I suppose I'll just go drop my books off in my dormitory and then go grab some dinner.'  
'I'll walk you up to the Tower,' James said. It wasn't a question.  
Following the events of the last few weeks, she'd had enough unwanted encounters with Slytherins to not be opposed to company. 'Alright. Thanks, Potter,' she replied with a smile.  
'Don't mention it, Evans.'  
'How are you holding up?' she asked him after a few moments of silence. James' expression darkened considerably.  
'Alright. All this school work though... I'm glad we have tomorrow at Hogsmeade. I think we all need some time off.'  
Lily nodded in agreement. 'Right you are. Let me put this away; I'll be back in a moment,' she said as they approached their common room.

When she returned, he was waiting patiently. 'You don't mind doing patrols with me, do you?' he asked hesitantly as they made their way towards the Great Hall.  
'Not in the slightest,' she assured him with a smile.  
James still looked hesitant. 'It's just... I know that we haven't always gotten along...'  
'James,' she cut in. 'That was then. Now, things aren't the same. We've all grown up. There are bigger things to worry about than petty childhood annoyances. Now, I'm not excusing the things you've done over the years; we both know you've stepped out of line many times, but not this year. You're not the eleven year old I met on the train the first time I came to Hogwarts. And between you and me, I really like this new James Potter.'  
James smiled ruefully. 'I suppose I could say the same for you. But thanks, Evans.'

Lily looked a little surprised. 'I didn't know I've changed. In what way?'  
James grinned. 'You're still the bossy swot you always were, but now you're up for some fun. It's nice to know that we won't always have you on our backs for ever little prank we decide to pull.'  
Lily laughed. 'It's our last year... I've grown up with your pranks. It'd be a shame to see them go now. But don't tell anyone I said that, I have a reputation to uphold.'  
James laughed and it was a nice sound. He didn't seem to laugh as much these days. Not since before his parents died.

'So are you looking forward to tomorrow?' she asked.  
'Yeah, I suppose so.' He didn't elaborate.  
'Well I suppose I'll see you at six,' she smiled as they arrived. Lily walked away to find Alice and Mary while James sat down next to Peter.

'Did you just walk in with James Potter?' Mary asked excitedly as she sat down.  
'Yes, I did,' Lily replied curtly. 'Now can you pass the mashed potatoes?'

Half way through the meal, Lily dropped her fork as she watched Clarisse Hopkirk, a sixth year Gryffindor prefect approach James. While they were far enough away to not notice her staring at them, Lily could still hear what they were saying.

'James! How are you?'  
'Er... I'm fine thanks, Clarise.'  
'So, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow?' Clarisse flipped her long blonde hair behind her, batting her eyelashes.  
James recoiled slightly. 'Um, I was just gonna go to Hogsmeade... you know, with everyone else?'

Clarisse laughed as if he had just told the funniest joke in the world.  
'Oh, James! You're so funny! Actually, I meant if you're not going with anyone... Maybe you could go with me?'

'Oh.' James stared at Peter looking for some sort of escape but his friend proved to be no help at all as he stared down at his pasta resolutely. 'Er... I'm not sure if that's the greatest idea, Clarisse. Now that I think about it, I have a Defence essay that's due Monday... I know I said I was going to Hogsmeade but I really only needed to grab a few things from Honeydukes... I'd be back pretty quickly. Maybe some other time,' he said kindly.

Clarisse looked rather crestfallen but brightened at the thought of "some other time." 'Sure, James. I'll see you around.' With a final wave of farewell, Clarisse left the hall.

For some reason that Lily didn't understand, she found that she was no longer hungry. Not only that, but she had a strong urge to punch Clarisse Hopkirk in the face. 'Are you alright, Lily? You look pale and you've been staring at James Potter for the past ten minutes.' Mary looked at her with concern etched all over her face.

'I'm fine,' Lily muttered. At six, she excused herself and walked over to James to inform him that it was time to go and see Professor Dumbledore.  
'Oh, of course. I'll see you later, Pete.'

The two made their way through the corridors in silence. 'Are you alright, Red? You look kind of pale,' he said after a while.  
'Fine,' she said, a little harsher than she intended to. Wincing she hoped he wouldn't notice. 'What's with the new nickname?'  
James grinned good naturedly. 'Red? I just thought it went well with your hair. And there's obviously something wrong. You can tell me you know?'

Lily sighed. 'It's lots of things, James. This is a difficult year.' And it was the truth.  
'Don't worry yourself too much. It'll get you nowhere,' he said wisely. 'Do you know the password?' he asked as the approached Dumbledore's office. Lily shook her head.

'I suppose we'll have to guess then,' he mused. 'Sugar quills.'  
'Chocolate wands.'  
'Fizzing whizbees.'  
'Exploding bonbons.'  
'Treacle fudge.'  
'Sugar skulls.'  
'Pixie puffs.'  
'Fudge flies.'  
'Liquorice wands.'  
'Ice mice.'  
'Cockroach clusters.'  
'Salt water taffy.'  
'Oh this is getting ridiculous, lemon pops.'  
'Jelly slugs.'  
'Pepper imps.'  
'Fizzing whizbees.'  
'No, we've already tried those. Chocolate frogs?'

At last the staircase appeared. 'Took us long enough,' Lily muttered.  
Knocking on the door at the top of the staircase, they waited until a soft voice told them to enter. The headmaster was sitting behind his desk staring at them over his half moon spectacles, a clear twinkle in his bright blue eyes. Fawkes the phoenix was sleeping on its perch as beautiful as ever.  
'Take a seat,' the headmaster offered. As they sat down, he observed the two. Lily blushed under his piercing gaze. 'I have called you here not to speak to you of your head duties as I'm sure you assumed, but for other reasons.'  
James and Lily looked at each other in surprise.  
'I am sure that you are both well aware of the threat that lies outside our doorstep. He who calls himself Lord Voldemort continues to wreak havoc in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. One sometimes wonders if anyone is now safe.' For the first time since Lily and James had known him, Dumbledore truly seemed like an old man.

'The rest of the staff would not wish me to disclose this information to you for you are still students however I feel that it is necessary for you to understand the threat we are facing. Voldemort is no average wizard stirring up some rebellion. He is incredibly powerful and has great numbers at his command. I regret to inform you that it is my belief that the Ministry of Magic is no longer safe.'  
'Sir, surely there's some way to stop him?' James said.

Dumbledore surveyed him over his glasses. 'That is why I have called you here today, Mr Potter. You and Miss Evans have been given a great responsibility. As Head Boy and Girl in these dark times, you bear the burden of a much greater responsibility than leaders of years passed. You must lead the students and show them that Voldemort must not be bowed down to. We must not give in. In the face of this war, we must not lose hope.'

'There must be something more we can do!' James cried out in anger. 'We've got to fight him. We can't just sit here and wait until he comes and picks us off, one by one. He killed my parents! I want him dead!'

Lily looked frightened by his outburst but didn't try to stop him. Dumbledore looked at James calmly and waited. 'I agree Mr Potter. There is another reason for which I have summoned you here. Once I realised that the Ministry would become near powerless against this threat, I decided that action must be taken. For this reason, I created a special society purely devoted to the downfall of Voldemort. We call ourselves the Order of the Phoenix. Secrecy is essential to our cause and our missions are based on stealth and intelligence that has been discovered. Our main goal is to find out Voldemort's plans and stop them. Eventually, I hope that through this society, we will bring an end to the terror that Voldemort has been spreading.'

James and Lily looked at the headmaster with their mouths open in shock. 'Your parents were a part of this organisation before their untimely deaths, Mr Potter. They were highly valued members. It is our belief that their involvement was discovered and they became immediate targets.' A flash of pride appeared in James' eyes.  
'It is exceptionally dangerous to be a part of the Order. Your lives would be put at risk on a daily basis. I have observed the two of you for some time now and despite your youth; I do however believe that you may wish to be a part of this society. Your courage and strength could be put to good use. It pains me to ask this of those so young yet I fear that time is running out and as we grow weaker, our enemies multiply and strengthen. By all means, you have every right to refuse me and walk out this door right now. I only ask that you disclose the contents of this conversation to no one. If you so wish however, I will grant you both a place amongst our ranks once you have graduated.'

James and Lily were each lost in their own thoughts. This would be very dangerous. Chances were they'd die. But this was their chance to fight back against the oppression. Voldemort would kill them all. Lily was already a target as a muggle born and James was a blood traitor if there ever was one. This was their chance to bring peace and stability back to both their worlds. To protect their loved ones from the darkness that surrounded them.

Looking at each other with determination in their eyes, the pair looked at their headmaster and in unison said, 'we'll do it.'

Rather than look pleased about their decision, Dumbledore looked sad. 'I expected nothing less from the two of you. I commend your courage but I assure you, if ever you wish to pull out, you are more than welcome to. I will not hold it against you should you change your minds.'

'Thank you Professor Dumbledore. We appreciate your offer and are grateful for your trust. We promise we won't tell anyone about this,' Lily said softly.  
'Thank you. I'll let you get back to your evenings.'

Rising from their seats, Lily and James left the headmaster's office lost in their thoughts, each with both fear and determination bubbling in their stomachs.

'Well that was... not what I was expecting,' Lily said to James as they patrolled the now empty corridors.  
'Certainly not,' James agreed. 'I'm just glad that we can finally do something. We can finally help put an end to this.'

'An end to what?' a voice called out from behind them. The two Head students turned to find themselves facing a group of Slytherin sixth and seventh years. The group included Avery, Mulciber, Nott, Macnair, Yaxley, Rowle, Gibbon, Dolohov, Rookwood, Crabbe, Goyle and to Lily's disgust, Snape. Lily and James both had their wands at the ready but did not raise them. Slipping his hand into his pocket, James pulled out the corner of what seemed to be a mirror before quickly hissing, '_Sirius!_' and slipping it back inside.

Lily spared him a questioning glance but remained focused on the Slytherins. 'What are you all doing outside your common room at this time at night?' She snapped. 'Go back to the dungeons before I start to dock points.'

The Slytherins laughed. 'Did you hear that?' Avery laughed. 'The _filthy mudblood_ is telling us what to do!'

James tensed beside her but she grabbed his arm. 'Don't do it,' she hissed. 'Not yet.' He remained tense but did not raise his wand.

'Evening gentlemen, my lady,' Sirius appeared from behind a tapestry and bowed to Lily. He seemed slightly out of breath as if he had been running. Moments later, Remus popped up out of the same tapestry. Alice, Frank Longbottom, Mary, Marlene and Emmaline all appeared too. 'Isn't this cosy,' Sirius continued. 'Though I'm a little miffed I wasn't invited to the party, Mulciber. This isn't like you at all.'

It occurred to Lily that they were still outnumbered. Truth was however, they were far more skilled than the Slytherins, perhaps with the exception of Snape. But there was only one of him.

Avery was looking at the new arrivals with what was perhaps a smidgeon of fear. 'Tell me, Macnair, how's dad doing? I hope Azkaban's been treating him well?' Sirius taunted. Lily and James didn't react. It was obvious that there was going to be a confrontation. The faster it began the better.

Macnair's face contorted in anger and he pointed his wand at Sirius. 'I'd watch your mouth if I were you, Black. Filthy blood traitors like you don't end up anywhere but dead in the sewers.'  
'But why in the name of Merlin would I want to find myself in your house? Even if I were dead, no chance of finding me there.'

With a hiss of rage, Macnair sent a curse towards Sirius who blocked it lazily.  
'Now,' Lily yelled, sending a bat-bogey hex towards Crabbe and a stinging jinx towards Goyle. Blocking the hex sent towards her by Yaxley, she set his robes on fire.

James was battling Rookwood and Dolohov while Sirius handles Macnair and Gibbon. Throwing a shield charm between Mary and Nott, she turned back to Yaxley who had extinguished his robes. With a shriek of rage as he stupefied Marlene, Lily sent the leek jinx at him forcing leeks to fall out of his ears. 'Ventus!' she yelled forcing him to fly backwards and hit his head on a wall.  
'PROTEGO!' James roared, sending a shield between herself and Dolohov. With a murderous expression, James stupefied Dolohov and sending a bat-bogey hex towards Rookwood before hitting him with a full body bind curse. Snape was duelling Alice while Frank helped Mary. When Avery attempted to attack her, she had him bound with purple tentacle sprouting all over his face in moments. James was fighting Snape now and the look of loathing on Snape's face was something like she'd never seen before. Running up to James she sent a protego in front of him and snapped at him to back off from Snape as Snape recovered from being sent into a wall.

James looked at her incredulously. 'You're defending him?'  
'No,' Lily shook her head. 'This one's personal. This fight is mine.' James looked at her for a moment longer before stepping away as Snape trained his wand back on his opponent. 'I don't think so, Snape. This time, you duel me,' she snapped.

Snape looked horrified. 'This is all your fault Potter! Sectumsempra!' he screamed. Without thinking, Lily dived in the way screaming the shield charm but it was useless against the curse. She gasped in horror as she felt the cuts appearing on her chest. James caught her, rage evident in his eyes.

'Snape! What did you do?' he screamed at him. Lily was losing consciousness, the pain was becoming unbearable.  
Snape looked horrified. 'I-I was aiming for P-Potter. I can fix it!' Muttering words under his breath, the cuts disappeared from Lily's chest but she'd already lost too much blood. As she slipped out of consciousness, she could hear James begging her to stay awake.

Sirius saw Lily fall and gasped. Sending a final hex towards his opponent, he ran over to Lily as James picked her up. 'He healed her,' James rasped. 'The git healed the cuts but she's already lost too much blood. We've got to get her to the Hospital Wing. Her and the others.'  
'You go on ahead. She needs help now. I'll get Marlene.'

James nodded and walked quickly towards the hospital wing as Sirius enervated Marlene. Frank and Mary were supporting Alice up as she hobbled along with her injured leg while Remus nursed his left arm and Peter looked around blankly, still suffering from the effects of the stray confundus charm that had hit him. The group made their way to the Hospital Wing slowly while James had hurried Lily there long before they arrived. Sirius was still supporting Marlene who was feeling ill from a second jinx that had hit her.

'What have you lot done?' Madame Pompfrey was snapping at James while she gave the unconscious Lily a blood replenishing potion. Seeing the group of injured students file in, she hissed in annoyance and told them all to take a bed. 'You too, Potter. That head of yours is oozing blood. It's not going to get better all on its own,' she snapped when James refused to leave Lily. Sighing, he insisted on at least taking the bed right beside her.

As Madame Pompfrey cleaned and bandaged his head, he found himself drifting off to sleep, his dreams filled with a single, broken and bloody lily flower.

**A/N: Well that chapter is longer than normal. I hope it makes up for the (only very slightly) late update. I hope you all enjoyed that. I get bored when there's nothing but petty romance dramas. I thought I'd shake things up a bit. This story is after all, about the war. **

**Reviews are hot chocolate on a cold winter day!**

**Love,**

**Forever Prongs**


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